Posted by Mark H. on March 22, 2000, at 18:22:08
In reply to L-Tyrosine? 5HTP? L-Tryptophan?, posted by KarenB on March 22, 2000, at 11:50:53
My doctor recommended supplementation with l-tyrosine a few years ago, and I had a very strange reaction. After a few days, I started having unbelievably violent and totally uncontrollable fantasies of people being maimed and killed in the most awful circumstances. It was bizarre, like a war movie going on inside my head that I could not turn off! After stopping supplementation with this amino acid, the symptoms disappeared.
As a result, I did quite a bit of research and found that the military, bless their hearts, had experimented with l-tyrosine on soldiers in battle, ostensibly to fight "fatigue." A bit of reading between the lines suggested it was more likely used to see if it would increase aggressiveness, stamina and the willingness to kill.
I personally know of only one other man locally who experienced a similar reaction -- in his case, an uncharacteristic and extremely strong desire to kill someone who had mildly insulted him at a dance, of all things -- but my doctor has since reported that she's had other people admit to similar reactions.
My wife Sue used to take l-tyrosine supplementation during tax season for the extremely long hours she would put in as an accountant, and I don't think she ever had a disturbing thought. However, after a couple of months of such supplementation, she did tend to become very "hard" and uncharacteristically unsympathetic towards others. She eventually decided for herself that l-tyrosine, while not turning her into a homicidal maniac, was changing her personality in a way that was not worth the small amount of extra energy and stamina that it gave her.
As Cam W. wisely pointed out to me, such anecdotal evidence based on a small number of experiences should not be generalized to be true for everyone. However, I offer this caution because, at least for me, the effects of l-tyrosine were serious and problematic.
poster:Mark H.
thread:27849
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000321/msgs/27874.html